Keiko Yukimura
Keiko Yukimura (雪村 螢子 Yukimura Keiko), spelled Kayko in the English dub, is the love interest of Yusuke Urameshi, her name means the blessed one, glad, or rejoicing child. It can also mean firefly child depending on the language. The meaning of Japanese names is found in the kanji and not in the sounds as several kanjis can have the same sound, in the light of that the meaning of Keiko's first name is firefly child, though other variations (made with other kanjis) can have different meanings. Her last name means snowy village, and is occasionally spelled Ukimura instead. She is called Jenny in the Filipino adaptation of the anime. Keiko was voiced by Yuri Amano in the original Japanese and Laura Bailey in the English version. In the Filipino dub of the anime, she was voiced by Rose Barin.' Appearance Keiko has dark brown hair in a full fringe and brown eyes. In the beginning of the Spirit Detective Saga until saving Yusuke's body from a burning house, her hair is shoulder length tied in two small braids in each sides. After Yusuke's revival and onwards, she is depicted to cut her hair into a bob. Her prominent appearance has her wearing a standard winter school uniform and her casual outfits that she wears are mostly sweater jackets with a white long sleeve button shirt underneath in skirts or denim shorts. As the series goes on, Keiko's figure eventually becomes more womanly, and as crudely pointed out by Yusuke, has gained a "nice tuckus" or a "nice ass" in the English dub. At the end of the anime series, Keiko has grown noticeably taller, her hair grows longer and wears a green standard school uniform for senior girls. In the latest OVA 2018, Keiko's hair is cut back into her original shoulder length and is no longer tied in a braid but was loose and wears a gray long sleeved shirt, pale blue jeans and black flats. Personality Keiko is Yusuke's childhood friend, and later they became a couple. They grew up together and studied together in the same school since they were kids. In many ways, Keiko is the opposite of Yusuke. She is sweet, calm, and does not use foul language. She is also equally known for her intelligence (she is the class representative of their section) and dependability. As a class representative, she often scolds Yusuke because of his bad student habits like skipping classes and being absent for many times but inside, she really wants to protect him. She and Yusuke are a lot closer than they would like to be sometimes (i.e. Yusuke groping her etc.), but nonetheless, it is clear that they love each other. Despite her sweet nature, it is revealed she has a short temper which is more often revealed in her interactions with Yusuke, who tends to annoy her with his at times insensitive comments (most of the time he never means to be insensitive or hurt her feelings) and is willing to retaliate with punches towards Yuusuke. She has also shown to be very thoughtful, understanding Yusuke's growing attachment to the demon world and his occupation as a spirit detective because it was the first place he felt he truly loved, showing the depth of her closeness and relationship with him. She can also be very patient despite her short temper, remaining patient with Yusuke as he struggles first with his responsibilities as spirit detective and later with his identity as a half demon and waiting for Yuusuke to return from his training, showing a strong sense of love and loyalty towards Yusuke. '''Character Relationships *Yusuke'- Childhood Friend/Love Interest/Fiance' *Kazuma Kuwabara - Friend *Kurama - Friend *Hiei -''' Captor/Friend''' *Shizuru - Good Friend ''' *Botan - '''Friend *Yukina - Friend *Genkai - Mentor *Raizen - Ancestral Father-in-Law *Atsuko Urameshi - Mother-in-Law Synopsis Yusuke's Revival After Yusuke is killed in a car accident, he is given a test by Koenma so his soul can come back again to his body and be revived. The test is to hatch a golden egg which feeds on his energy; if bad energies are given, the creature that will hatch will eat him alive but if good, then he will be resurrected. Keiko proved to be the key person in reviving Yusuke back to life. The first requirement is that his body is not destroyed (e.g. cremated). Yusuke first appears to Keiko through a dream comforting her since she was devastated at Yusuke's death. Then he appears again to Keiko after his soul takes control temporarily of Kuwabara's body. After Yusuke gropes her and Keiko recognizes him by instinct, Yusuke (through Kuwabara's body) tells her to wait for him to come back and to tell her mother not to cremate/bury his body. Keiko tells him that she is willing to wait forever for him if necessary and promises to take care of his body. One day, while Keiko and Yusuke's mother (Atsuko) were gone out of the house, an arsonist ramdomly burns Yusuke's house where his body was kept. Keiko rushes in the burning house to save Yusuke's body but was trapped on her way out. Sayaka (the little spirit girl who follows Yusuke and Botan around) then told Yusuke that he can save her life by throwing the golden egg and making a wish but if he does so, then he cannot be revived anymore since the golden egg will be hatched and destroyed before it could resurrect him. In order to help Keiko, Yusuke did not hesitate to throw the egg to save Keiko. Because of his willingness to save Keiko's life even if he knows that by doing so he can't be revived anymore, Koenma told Yusuke that he passed the test. (In the manga, the condition Yusuke faced to help Keiko in the fire is different from the anime. Koenma told Yusuke that he can help Keiko under one condition. Yusuke then told Koenma just to help her first before revealing the condition. After helping Keiko, Koenma said that the payment would be a part of Keiko's body. Yusuke grew very worried, only to find out that the payment would be some of her hair. This was the reason Keiko's hair became shorter in the manga.) As Yusuke was now permitted the chance to live again, the final requirement would be to transfer life energy to his glowing corpse by midnight after his spirit's linkup with the Reikei is at its maximum. Since Kuwabara did not respond seriously to Yusuke's appearances to him in a dream (Yusuke cannot appear to his mother Atsuko since his mother started drinking and would not go to bed), Yusuke appears to Keiko in a vision of her kissing him to revive him. As Keiko wonders about whether to take the dream literally, her mother falls ill and Keiko decides to stay at her side all night. Botan then intervened by taking temporary control of Keiko's mother's body and telling her that she is just fine and though she is ill, Yusuke is in more danger and needs her the most. Keiko then rushes back to Yusuke's house and kisses Yusuke at the final minute at midnight and Yusuke is revived at last. Spirit Detective Saga Yusuke tries not to involve her with his spirit detective escapades, though multiple interferences from demons prevent this. After learning from his demon minion the value which Yusuke places on Keiko's life, Hiei surreptitiously slashes her with the Conjuring Blade, initiating the process of demonification. His intentions are to use her as leverage against Yusuke so that he can regain control of the Mirror of Darkness, and the Orb of Baast to further his plans for the destruction of humanity. Also, Keiko was to become the first of Hiei's demon slaves. This was prevented, however, by an unexpected act of heroism by Kurama, some high-level white magic from Botan, and some quick-witted ingenuity and a trace of luck from detective Yusuke. Their combined efforts foiled Hiei's plan and allowed Keiko to be cured by the antidote contained within the hilt of the Shadow Sword.Yu Yu Hakusho manga; Chapter 23 When the Saint Beasts send Makai insects into the Human World, Keiko and Botan are attacked by several possessed humans. At first, Keiko is jealous towards Botan for she has seen her several times with Yusuke, but Botan clarifies to Keiko that Yusuke is all hers and that their relationship with Yusuke is not romantic. Meanwhile, Yusuke fights Suzaku, in order to save her. Keiko and Botan hold out, and manage to subdue the attackers by tricking them and hitting them with brooms. Yusuke almost dies, but at the last moment, as Keiko screams out his name as she was about to be killed by the possessed humans, he bursts out all his life energy to kill Suzaku and break the whistle controlling the humans. Dark Tournament Saga After Keiko learns the truth, she, Botan, and Shizuru (along with Atsuko in the manga) follow Yusuke and his team to the Dark Tournament, where she gives him moral support on the sidelines. She also takes care of Pu while he fights. Yukina, Kuwabara's love interest, also becomes her friend. After Yusuke suffered immense pain and was knocked unconscious after receiving Genkai 's Spirit Orb, Keiko takes care of him. She was briefly threatened by some demons while protecting an unconscious Yusuke but was saved by Chu, Rinku, Jin, and Toya . During Yusuke's fight with Toguro, as Yusuke is pummeled down by Toguro, Keiko became unresponsive to her surroundings and hallucinates that all were just a dream. This is probably due to enormous stress of seeing Yusuke being beaten to death by Toguro. After the match, Yusuke slaps Keiko successively to bring her to consciousness again. Keiko, by instinct, recognizes Yusuke's slaps and then comically slaps Yusuke in return and finally returns to herself again. Chapter Black Saga Keiko continues to join Yusuke and the team in some of their conversations and meetings. In the anime, while Yusuke was facing Doctor, one of Sensui's companions, Keiko was bitten by one of Doctor's insects as she and Shizuru searched for Yusuke and Kuwabara. She and the others bitten by the insects were healed when Yusuke knocked Doctor unconsciousness. As Yusuke left Keiko to rescue Kuwabara and defeat Sensui, Keiko becomes very worried for Yusuke's status and whereabouts. With Shizuru (Atsuko in the manga), she witnesses Pu evolve into a giant bird who flies away to help Yusuke. When a very different-looking Yusuke with very long hair and with marks on his body (due to his transformation to demon form) returns after defeating Sensui, Keiko is the first to recongnize him (again, by instinct) and hugs him immediately. Three Kings Saga Yusuke returns to the human world after his fight with Sensui and tells Keiko that he plans on leaving and going back to Demon World. Upon hearing this, she tells Yusuke that she's working hard for the entrance exams to attend a prestigious all girls high school, Dai-ichi Women's (or Dai-ichi School for Girls in the English dub). She then breaks up with him and runs away, thinking that Yusuke might not be able to come back again. That night, in despite of what happened earlier, Yusuke visits Keiko to personally say goodbye to her. He then proposes marriage to her and promises that he'll be back in three years. At first, Keiko didn't believe his marriage proposal (since Yusuke had jokingly proposed numerous times before) but Yusuke said that he is now serious this time. Keiko said that a lot could happen in those three years, but at heart, she still loves him so much and decides to wait for him. By the end of the series (on the final episode of the anime), another year and a half has passed, and she is now 18 years old. She is successfully attending Dai-ichi, and is now preparing for her college entrance exams to become a teacher. Physically, she is also much more mature than earlier in the series; taller, a much more womanly figure, and very long hair. Keiko, together with Kurama and Kuwabara, and later joined by Botan and Yukina, visit Genkai to hear her last will regarding her land (in the manga, they just read her written will). After visiting Genkai, Keiko and the others visit a beach. After some reflection, Keiko (in a very hurt voice) screams out into the sunset saying she is now giving up on Yusuke, thinking that Yusuke had forsaken her forever to be able to go on fighting. However, upon Yusuke arriving on the scene and appearing to Keiko at the last minute and saying she doesn't have to wait anymore, she embraces and kisses him. Some variations exist between the endings of anime and manga, but they still have the same over-all theme of Yusuke returning to the Human World and reuniting with Keiko at last. This is due to some chapters in the manga not adapted into anime. Interesting note: In the manga's final chapter, Keiko, through Kuwabara, learns that Yusuke made a confession that she (Keiko) is his "goddess" (the term used by Yusuke himself). Because of this, Keiko confirms once and for all that Yusuke really loves her very much. She then chases Yusuke far out in the beach and happily plays with him with the ocean waves. This is where the kissing scene in the last episode of the anime could have happened. In the OVAs, she seems to have cut her longer hair back to her normal length (this is due to the fact that it was based on a scene in the manga, where it never grew longer). Techniques/Moves * Keiko Slap: She hits her enemies (most often Yusuke) with a deadly slap right across the cheeks leaving it red for days. She uses this often when enraged (more often when Yusuke touches her behind). It's strong enough to send Yusuke tumbling head-over-heels a good distance away from her. She uses this technique with two hands to repel the infected humans inside her school. Subsequently, she saves Botan from an infected Mr. Iwamoto with a particularly devastating slap that knocks him temporarily unconscious. She also knocks out a lecherous E Class Demon during the Dark Tournament Saga, though she complained that it hurt to do so. She also uses this move when Yusuke says to Keiko "Nice Skirt." According to Yusuke, her slap hurts more than other people's punches. Trivia *Keiko was born January 31. But latest releases show her August 24. *In the anime, the part where Keiko's long hair was trimmed and redesigned following her experience in rescuing Yusuke Urameshi's body from his burning apartment early on in the story was left unexplained to when she had it done. In the manga however, Kuwabara's sister Shizuru was the one who redesigned Keiko's hair after the incident. *She was named Ah-Ring ( 아링) in the Korean dub, but retains her name in the Korean subs and Korean translation. She was voiced by Jung Hae-Ok, who also voices Botan. *Keiko shares the same last name as Samurai Deeper Kyo character Sanada Yukimura and Kekkaishi character Tokine Yukimura (As well as the same Dub Actress), and are all unrelated characters with the same last name. *In the Filipino dub, her name is Jenny. *It's implied in the second episode of the Spirit Detective Saga that she was groped and sexually harassed by her childhood friend, Yusuke, multiple times before the start of the series, although he didn't do it in a negative way and only did it to annoy her. *Although it is shown that Keiko and Yusuke cared for each other from before the starting of the anime. It isn't known when they began to develop feelings for each other. However it is shown in the manga - While Yusuke was dead, Atsuko is shown reminicising about a winter when Yusuke (around 8 years old) caught a fever when he fell into a pond as he was playing around with Keiko's dress. Keiko went to his house and said that she would stay till his fever subsided. Atsuko assured her that he was going to be fine and told her to go home. The next day Yusuke, still high on fever, went out to meet Keiko pretending to be alright saying that he didn't want to see the sad expression that Keiko had the day before, since she had been almost reduced to tears. *Keiko's feistiness is one of the reasons Yusuke loves her. *Keiko and Yusuke likely became an official couple during the gap between the Chapter Black Saga and Three Kings Saga. Quotes *"That's the one bad thing about sunsets, they make you think too much." -Episode 112 Dialogue *Keiko: "Yusuke... This is the end! I'm tired of waiting for you, Yusuke! Half my life I've waited for you to come around! Even when you were here, you weren't really... You weren't here for me! Go on fighting but it's time I get what I want! *Yusuke: "I don't want you to wait either." *Keiko: "Huh?" *Yusuke: "See, you don't have to!" *Keiko: "Yusuke!" *hugs* *Yusuke: *grunts* "One of us has gotten more athletic since I've been gone!" *Kiss* -Episode 112 References Category:Characters Category:Humans Category:Female Characters Category:Heroines Category:Yusuke's Allies